He was born at
Thonon in
Savoy. He studied medicine, took his degree at
Turin, and then went to
Paris, where in 1789 he joined the
National Guard. In 1791 he tried without success to begin an uprising in
Savoy, in 1792 he organized the
Légion des Allobroges, and in the following years he served at the
siege of Toulon, in the
Army of the Eastern Pyrenees, and in the
Army of Italy. He was captured at
Rivoli, but was soon exchanged. In the spring of 1798 Dessaix was elected a member of the
Council of Five Hundred. He was one of the few in that body who opposed the ''
coup d'etat'' of the
18th Brumaire (November 9, 1799). In 1803 he was promoted general of brigade, and soon afterwards
Commander of the Légion d'honneur. He distinguished himself greatly at the
battle of Wagram (1809), and was about this time promoted general of division and named Grand Officer of the Légion d'honneur, and in 1810 was made a count. He took part in
Napoleon's invasion of Russia, leading the 4th division of the
I Corps (Grande Armée) under
Davout, and was twice wounded. For several months he was
commandant of
Berlin, and afterwards delivered the department of
Mont Blanc from the
Austrians. After the
first restoration Dessaix held a command under the
Bourbons. He joined
Napoleon in the
Hundred Days and was appointed to command the 23rd Division in Marshal
Louis Gabriel Suchet's corps on the Savoy frontier. His division included two battalions each of the 42nd and 53rd Line Infantry Regiments under General of Brigade Jean Revest and three battalions of the 67th Line under General of Brigade Jean Montfalcon. In 1816 he was imprisoned for five months. The rest of his life was spent in retirement. DESSAIX, J. is one of the names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe, on Column 1. ==References==